Right-Wing Resurgence

How a Domestic Terrorist Threat is Being Ignored

Daryl Johnson - Foreword by Mark Potok

In 2008 there were 149 militia groups in the United States. In 2009, that number more than tripled to 512, and now there are nearly 600. In Right-Wing Resurgence, author Daryl Johnson offers a detailed account of the growth of right-wing extremism and militias in the United States and the ever-increasing threat they pose. The author is an acknowledged expert in this area and has been an intelligence analyst working for several federal agencies for nearly 20 years. The book is also a first-hand, insider’s account of the DHS Right-Wing Extremism report from the person who wrote it. It is a truthful depiction of the facts, circumstances, and events leading up to the leak of this official intelligence assessment.

The leak and its aftermath have had an adverse effect on homeland security. Because of its alleged mishandling of the situation, the Department’s reputation has declined in the intelligence and law enforcement communities and the analytical integrity of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis was undermined. Most importantly, the nation’s security has been compromised during a critical time when a significant domestic terrorist threat is growing. This book is replete with case studies and interviews with leaders which reveal their agendas, how they recruit, and how they operate around the country. It presents a comprehensive account of an ever-growing security concern at a time when this threat is only beginning to be realized, and is still largely ignored in many circles.

Daryl Johnson was the senior domestic terrorism analyst at the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) from August 2004 to April 2010. During his time at DHS, Mr. Johnson wrote numerous sensitive intelligence reports and briefed a wide range of organizations including congressional staff; federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; members of the intelligence community; colleges and universities; and other non-government organizations.

Johnson, an expert on right-wing extremism and former civil servant, landed in hot water after a 2009 Department of Homeland Security report on right-wing extremism leaked to the public. Writing it was his responsibility as senior domestic terror analyst at the Department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, but his use of that term generated a tremendous amount of political backlash and backtracking. He painstakingly establishes a record of domestic terrorism incidents, arguing that tracking how perpetrators recruit is essential. His descriptions of homegrown terrorist organizations’ brutal murders and pursuit of biochemical weapons validates concerns about DHS’s reorganization to exclusively focus on domestic Muslim extremism. — Publishers Weekly

A sober assessment of the dangers posed by right-wing extremist violence in the United States in the 21st century.— Mark Pitcavage, Director of Investigative Research at the Anti-Defamation League

For years the lead analyst of non-Islamic domestic terrorism for the Department of Homeland Security, Daryl Johnson was the primary author of a report describing the threat of resurgent right-wing terrorism that was leaked in 2009. In his new book, Johnson offers a damning account of DHS leaders’ political cowardice when the report came under baseless criticism from the political right, culminating in its repudiation by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and the evisceration of Johnson’s team — actions that left America more vulnerable to terror from the right.— Mark Potok, Southern Poverty Law Center

In the year after Obama’s 2008 victory, the number of militia groups tripled to 512—some suggest the number is higher. Many of these groups embrace a more radical and militant vision than in the past. Johnson, an expert on right-wing extremism, examines the dynamics of these groups and details how the threat they pose is being ignored.— Library Journal

Right-Wing Resurgence

How a Domestic Terrorist Threat is Being Ignored

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Summary

Summary

In 2008 there were 149 militia groups in the United States. In 2009, that number more than tripled to 512, and now there are nearly 600. In Right-Wing Resurgence, author Daryl Johnson offers a detailed account of the growth of right-wing extremism and militias in the United States and the ever-increasing threat they pose. The author is an acknowledged expert in this area and has been an intelligence analyst working for several federal agencies for nearly 20 years. The book is also a first-hand, insider’s account of the DHS Right-Wing Extremism report from the person who wrote it. It is a truthful depiction of the facts, circumstances, and events leading up to the leak of this official intelligence assessment.

The leak and its aftermath have had an adverse effect on homeland security. Because of its alleged mishandling of the situation, the Department’s reputation has declined in the intelligence and law enforcement communities and the analytical integrity of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis was undermined. Most importantly, the nation’s security has been compromised during a critical time when a significant domestic terrorist threat is growing. This book is replete with case studies and interviews with leaders which reveal their agendas, how they recruit, and how they operate around the country. It presents a comprehensive account of an ever-growing security concern at a time when this threat is only beginning to be realized, and is still largely ignored in many circles.

Daryl Johnson was the senior domestic terrorism analyst at the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) from August 2004 to April 2010. During his time at DHS, Mr. Johnson wrote numerous sensitive intelligence reports and briefed a wide range of organizations including congressional staff; federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; members of the intelligence community; colleges and universities; and other non-government organizations.

Johnson, an expert on right-wing extremism and former civil servant, landed in hot water after a 2009 Department of Homeland Security report on right-wing extremism leaked to the public. Writing it was his responsibility as senior domestic terror analyst at the Department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, but his use of that term generated a tremendous amount of political backlash and backtracking. He painstakingly establishes a record of domestic terrorism incidents, arguing that tracking how perpetrators recruit is essential. His descriptions of homegrown terrorist organizations’ brutal murders and pursuit of biochemical weapons validates concerns about DHS’s reorganization to exclusively focus on domestic Muslim extremism. — Publishers Weekly

A sober assessment of the dangers posed by right-wing extremist violence in the United States in the 21st century.— Mark Pitcavage, Director of Investigative Research at the Anti-Defamation League

For years the lead analyst of non-Islamic domestic terrorism for the Department of Homeland Security, Daryl Johnson was the primary author of a report describing the threat of resurgent right-wing terrorism that was leaked in 2009. In his new book, Johnson offers a damning account of DHS leaders’ political cowardice when the report came under baseless criticism from the political right, culminating in its repudiation by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and the evisceration of Johnson’s team — actions that left America more vulnerable to terror from the right.— Mark Potok, Southern Poverty Law Center

In the year after Obama’s 2008 victory, the number of militia groups tripled to 512—some suggest the number is higher. Many of these groups embrace a more radical and militant vision than in the past. Johnson, an expert on right-wing extremism, examines the dynamics of these groups and details how the threat they pose is being ignored.— Library Journal